Refrigerator cabinet



C. F. GERHARDT REFRIGERATORCABINET Filed Feb. 14, 1956 ATTORNEY.

April 19,1938;

April 19, 1938. c. F. GERHARDT REFRIGERATOR CABINET Filed Feb. 14, 1956 2 lSheets-Sheet 2 I /M/E/vrofa atented Apr. 19, 1938 UNITED STATI-:s PATENT OFFIC 1 cari F. Gerhardt, Kenmore, NfY.

Application February 14, 1936, Serial No. 63,927

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator cabinets of the kind intended for use in connection with refrigeration produced within the cabinet by expansion of adrefrigerant.

In conventional refrigerators of this kind as now commonly made, a suitable evaporating or expansion coil or unit is provided in the upper portion of the food compartment and operates at temperatures low enough to permit the freezing of ice cubes or other materials which are exposed directly to the evaporating units. In this type of construction, much of the moisture contained in the air in the food compartment is condensed and frozen on the evaporating unit or parts immediately adjacent thereto, so that the air in the food compartment of the refrigerator is so dry as to remove moisture from fruits, vegetables or other materials which may be contained in the food compartment. This difliculty has been overcome in the past by providing within the food compartment a separate covered container for foods from which it is desired to prevent the evaporation of moisture and which container is removably arranged in the rfood compartment, and in other refrigerators a separate compartment for moist air is provided, and which is cooled by a separate evaporating .unit operating at tempratures above freezing and usually receiving refrigerant from the main unit within the refrigerator. The rst of these expedients is not particularly desirable because of the inconvenience of handling the separate con- -tainer and the other expedient is expensive because of the necessity of providing an additional evaporating or expansion unit.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet of novel and inexpensive construction in which a separate compartment is provided for storage of foods in a moist or hydrated atmosphere and in which the use of a separate or additional evaporating coil is eliminated.` Another object of the invention is to provide a hydrated air compartment in a refrigerator which is cooled by the same evaporating unit whichy operates at sub-freezing temperatures and cools a dehydrating compartment of the refrigerator. Another object of the invention is to provide in a refrigerator cabinet a compartment for moist air which is arranged adjacent the evaporating unit and separated therefrom by means of a heat conducting partition. Another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet in which th'e moist air compartment is arranged adjacent to the freezing compartment and separated therefrom by meansof a heatconducting partition. Another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet in which the hydrated and dehydrated compartments are separated by a heat conducting wall on which the freezing compartment is also supported in such a mannerthat the freezing compartment extends into the dehydrated compartment. Other objects of the invention are to improve refrigerator `cabinets in other respects which will appear from the following description and claims: d In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a embodying this invention. l

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view thereof on a larger scale, on line`2-'-2Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional viewshowing a'portion of Fig. 2 on a still larger. scale.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of thelupper portion of the refrigerator. d l

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectionalview, showing on a larger scale a portion of Fig. l2.`

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on a larger scale, on line 6-5, Fig. 4.

The frame and walls of the refrigerator cabinet may be constructed in any usual or suitable manner andthe particular refrigerator shown .in the drawings, which show by way of example only one embodiment of this` invention,. includes a main door I0 which opens into a main food compartment I I and an upper door I2 through which access may be had to an upper compartment I5. The upper door I2, in the particular construction shown, is hinged at I6 and swings upwardly, but it will be understood that, if desired, the upper door I2 may swing upon hinges Alocated at a side thereof in asimilar manner as the door I0. The mechanism for operating the vrefrigerator such, for example, as a motor driven compressor (notshown) may be. arranged in a lower compartnent I'l of the refrigerator or in any other suitable location withinv or without Vthe refrigerator cabinet. Y

'I'he main food compartment of the refrigerator shown has a lining I9 which may be constructed in any suitable'or'usual manner and which may be of any suitable material, and which preferably terminates at theupper ends of the `side walls of the food compartment II. The moist air compartment I5 is separated fromthe food compartment II by means of a partition or plate 20 of heat conducting material, and in the construction shown, a gasket or packingZI is provided between the lining I9 and the partition 20, the upper edge of the lining being for this purrefrigerator pose provided with a horizontally extending part or flange 22, see particularly Fig. 6, which supports the gasket member 2| and the partition 20. In the particular construction shown, the partition 20 is formed integral with a. lining 24 for the compartment I5, but it will be understood that, if desired, the lining may be formed separately from the partition 20, but for reasons hereinafter explained, it is preferable to have the lining 24 connected in heat conducting relation to the partition 20.

vThe refrigerator is provided with a freezing space or compartment 25 which may be of any suitable or desired form and in which ice cubes or other articles may be frozen. This freezing compartment may be of any suitable or desired shape or form andmay be subjected to freezing temperatures in any suitable manner. In the construction illustrated, this freezing compartment is in the form of a substantially rectangular container including a bottom wall 26 and side and end walls 21, the front wall of the freezing compartment being omitted. The front of the freezing compartment may, however, be closed by means of a door 28 which may, for example, be hinged at 29 or the front of the freezing compartment may bev left open or closed in any other manner.

I have found that if the freezing compartment of the refrigerator is mounted ,-i'n heat conducting relation to the partition 20, sufficient heat is removed from the compartment I of the refrigerator to assure the proper keeping of vegetables, fruits and the like. The freezing compartment may, of course, be mounted on the partition 20 in any suitable or desired manner, and in the construction illustrated, the upper ends of the opposite side walls 2'I of the freezing compartment are provided with outwardly extending fianges 29 which may be secured to the partition 20 by means of bolts 30 or in any other suitable manner. 32 represents an evaporatlng coil which may be suitably secured to the bottom wall 2S of the freezing compartment, and if desired, coils may also be provided in contact with the side walls 2l of the freezing compartment. It will be un however, that the freezing compartment e the refrigerator may be provided with an evaporation unit or space of any other suitable kind.

It will be noted from the foregoing description that thel partition 20, whichis preferably imperforate, forms a separation between the compartments II and I5 so that a circulation or passage of air from one compartment to the other is prevented. Consequently, the moist air contained in the compartment I5 will not contact with the freezing compartment or evaporating` that by` means of the construction described, the' hydrated compartment I5 will be kept at a low temperature because of the conductance of heat through the partition 20. This heat is conducted partly through the flanges 29 of the walls 21 of the freezing compartment which are in direct contact with the partition 20 and partly because of the cold air within the freezing compartment which contacts with the lower surface of the partition 2D. It is, of course, also possible that a certain amount of heat from the partition 20 is radiated into the freezing compartment 25. Undoubtedly a considerable amount of heat is conducted directly from the side Walls 24 of the compartment I5 to the partition 20. "Consequently,

the cool side walls 24 and the cool partition 2l) lower the temperature within the compartment I5 to a suiiicient extent to preserve for long periods of time, fruits, vegetables, and other materials which are subject to drying. Contrary to expectations, it has also been found that there is practically no stratification of layers of air of different temperatures within the compartment I5 and this is probably due to the fact that warm air in the upper part of the compartment I5 may give up its heat to the cold lower air by radiation or by convection currents of air, induced by the cold side walls or lining 24 of Ithe compartment I5, which may remove heat from air contacting therewith, and thus cause the cooled air adjacent thereto to descend and produce circulation within the chamber I5. The lining 24 of the chamber I5 preferably also extends along the top of the chamber, which is in heat conducting contact with the lining of the side walls and with the partition 20, will also have a tendency to cool the warmer air at the top of the compartment I5.

In the construction of the refrigerator cabinet, it is, of course, necessary to provide for the adequate cooling of the partition 20 from the freezing compartment 25 without, however, producing in any portion of the partition 20 temperatures below the freezing point, since on such portions, moisture would be removed from the air and deposited in the form of ice. It has been found that in connection with the freezing compartment shown in the accompanying drawings, the partition 20 and lining 24 may be made in one piece and of the usual enameled metal, the conductivity of such metal being sufficient to cool the compartment I5 to the desired extent, but not sufficient to form frost on any parts of the partition 20.

'I'he construction described provides in a refrigerating cabinet a moist air compartment Without the expense of a separate evaporator coil or freezing unit. The arrangement described does not interfere with the freezing of ice cubes or other` materials within the freezing compartment 25nor with theproper cooling and desired regulation of temperature of the dehydrated compartment II and'provides in a refrigerator a hydrated or moist air compartment with very little added expense in the production of the refrigerator.

While I have in the accompanying drawings Illustrated a refrigerator in which a moist air compartment is arranged above the dehydrated compartment of the refrigerator, it will be obvious that my -invention is-equally applicable to a refrigerator cabinet -K in which the moist. air compartment maybe arranged, at a side of the dehydrated compartment, in which case thel heat conducting partition between these two compartments would be arranged vertically to form either a part of or the entire separating wall between these two food compartments.

The refrigerator shown in the accompanying drawings is also provided with door jambs around the door opening which follow in part the contour of the edge portion of the door which extends into the door opening. These jambs may be formed integral with the inner lining of the refrigerator. In the construction illustrated, the edges of the inner lining around the door opening are provided with projections or bent portions 35, which extend toward the middle of the door opening into proximity to the beveled or inclined portions 3B oi the part of the door which extends into the door opening.

The outer ends of the jamb portions of the inner lining terminate adjacent to the outer face of the door opening and abut against an insulating strip 31, see particularly Fig. 5, arranged within the door opening. The insulating strip is arranged between the edges of the outer shell 38 of the refrigerator adjacent to the door openings, and thus prevent the conduction of heat from the outer shell to the inner lining. The jamb may be secured to the frame of the refrigerator so as to clamp the insulating strip in its operative position, and in the construction illustrated, screws 39, passing through holes in the jamb and insulating strip, extend `into frame members 40 arranged about the door opening. Preferably, the insulating strip has a bead or enlarged portion 4i on the outer edge thereof, which, together with the screws and the edge of the jamb, securely holds the strip in place. The beaded edge of the insulating strip may engage a part of the door, or if desired, a sealing member or gasket 42, of rubber or other flexible material may be secured to the door in position to engage with the insulating member 36 or the outer shell 38, or with both, as shown. Any other door jamb and sealing construction may be employed, if desired. r

I claim as my invention:

1. A refrigerator having an upper compartment for containing moist air, a lower compartment, a substantially imperforate partition separating said compartments and made of` heat conducting material, and a freezing compartment secured directly to said partition and arranged in said lower compartment for cooling the same, said freezing compartment cooling said upper compartment by conductance of heat through said partition.

2. A refrigerator having an upper compartment for containing moist air, a lower compartment, a substantially imperforat'e partition separating said compartments and made of heat conducting material, a lining for said upper compartment which is also made of heat conducting material and which is connected in heat conducting relation to said partition, and a freezing compartment having walls secured in heat conducting relation to said partition for cooling said upper compartment through said partition and lining and extending into said lower compartment for cooling the same.

3. A refrigerator having an upper compartment for containing moist air, a lower compartment, a

substantially imperforate partition separating said compartments and made of heat conducting material and having integral portions forming a lining for said upper compartment, a freezing compartment having walls secured in heat conducting relation to said partition, an evaporating unit secured in heat conducting relation to said freezing compartment and spaced from said par tition, said freezing compartment and unit extending into said lower compartment for cooling the same.

4. A refrigerator having an upper compartment for containing moist air, a lower compartment, a substantially imperforate partition separating said compartments and made of heat conducting materlaL and a freezing compartment comprising side and bottom walls and having the upper edges of the side walls secured to said partition to form a heat conducting connection between said partition and said freezing compartment, said partition' forming the upper wall of said freezing compartment, whereby heat is conducted from said partition through said walls of said freezing compartment and through the air in said freezing compartment. f

5. A refrigerator cabinet including a space divided by means ofV a substantially imperforate heat conducting partition into two separated compartments, an open ended metallic container Secured to said partition in heat conducting relation thereto and extending into one of said compartments, an evaporating unit secured in heat conducting relation to said container to produce a freezing temperature in said container, to permit heat to pass from the partition to said unit by convection of the air and conduction by the metallic container to said unit.

6. A refrigerator cabinet including an upper compartment for storing articles without substantial evaporation of moisture therefrom, another compartment arranged immediately below said upper compartment, a substantially imperforate heat conducting partition separating said compartments, an open ended container arranged `in said lower compartment and secured in heatconducting relation to said partition, the top of said container being formed by said partition, an evaporating unit secured to said container and cooperating therewith to produce a freezing temperature therein, and to cool said lower compartment, and spaced from said partition, to produce a refrigerating temperature in said upper compartment while maintaining said partition at temperatures above the freezing point of water.

, CARL F. GERHARDT. 

